Today
machines exist that can bore through a closed artery within a human body,
or destroy a city, yet engineers claim that all machines can be reduced
to the fundamental components known to the early /Greeks - the lever,
the wheel and axle, the pulley, the inclined plane/wedge and the screw
- all of which have been found in some form within the short-range material/people
movers of all eras, And we do not wish to forget the rope/cable which
human muscle used before any combination of such components were conceived.
As the combinations of components evolved into ever more complex lifting
mechanisms it was ever grounded upon a continual improvement of the inherent
parts; fiber rope into metal cable; wheels into various kinds of interactions
and ratios between geared wheels; iron replacing, or reinforcing, wood;
then new metal alloys that increased the strength and longevity of castings,
guide rails and structural pieces. When it was found that a greater variety
of materials could be lifted upon a platform on the end of the rope than
the traditional hook, the elevator was truly born. Thereafter, associated
workmen saw that they, too, could be lifted. With royalty and commercial
upper classes being considered more valuable than others their safety
became a concern that was eventually extended to others and innovation
turned to the development of car and hoistway enclosures - and of related
safety devices, The miner in the bucket eventually became the commercial
entrepreneur in the moving parlor car! The perpetual motion machine remains
a dream. A machine is only as useful as the power that can be applied
to it and we have portrayed the evolution of man, beast, wind, water,
steam, hydraulic and electric power. Electric power not only drove machinery
it allowed a much finer control and security than did previous mechanical
levers and interlocks. In addition to geometrically increasing production
the Industrial Revolution brought the desire of its adherents to carry
out business more efficiently. Those in the commercial world wished to
move faster and more safely. Electricity might assure higher speeds, and
eventually a finer interaction between cars in a bank, but this had to
be accompanied by more efficient signals and fixtures, along with buffers
and other safety devices. Comfort was demanded along with higher speeds,
and the control of acceleration and deceleration became an important concern
of the electrical era. Erecting higher personal and corporate monuments
- keeping up with the Joness - stimulated the creation of ever more
elaborate cabins and fixtures for skyscraper inhabitants.. As the creation
of elevator components expanded and evolved to meet the demand specialty
suppliers came into being and assured that maximum attention was given
particular elements of the elevator package. Competition among such companies
brought ever-swifter evolution of the component parts, assuring the continued
evolution of the complete vertical transportation plant..